ArtPlace names the Dallas Arts District one of the nation’s top 12 ArtPlaces

City Performance Hall is one of the newer additions to the Dallas Arts District.

Those bullish on the Dallas Arts District got some very good news Tuesday, when the Web site ArtPlace announced for the first time ever “America’s Top Twelve ArtPlaces” and elevated the Dallas Arts District “with parts of Deep Ellum and Exposition Park” to No. 2, behind an artsy area of Brooklyn, N.Y., and ahead of Los Angeles and Central Hollywood.

The top 12 were identified by ArtPlace as “most successfully combining art, artists and other creatives, independent businesses, retail shops and restaurants and walkability to make vibrant places.”

ArtPlace describes itself as “a collaboration of leading national and regional foundations, banks and federal agencies” and was founded, its managers say, “to accelerate ‘creative placemaking’ – that is, putting art at the heart of a portfolio of strategies to revitalize communities in ways nothing else quite can.”

ArtPlaces describes art as “inspiring and motivating. But it is also a powerful catalyst for change within communities, invigorating neighborhoods, supporting local businesses, and creating vibrant places where people want to be.”

The comments about Dallas were intriguing. “Can you manufacture an arts neighborhood from scratch? The Dallas Arts District makes a solid case that you can. Today it is a neighborhood in transition, buzzing with new arts activity but lacking a community of residents.”

Hmm. That last comment is fascinating, given the ongoing controversy surrounding Museum Tower, a 42-story residential enclave just about to open but whose persistent glare invading the galleries and garden of the Nasher Sculpture Center has drawn national attention.

The study describes Dallas’ as “the largest arts district in the nation, spanning 68 acres and 19 contiguous blocks.” It has, they say, “created more than $128 million in economic impact.”

The study went beyond the Arts District, noting that “the city is also fostering an authentic and organic grassroots arts scene a few blocks east in Deep Ellum and Exposition Park.” It mentions Kettle Art, Kirk Hopper Fine Art, the Barry Whistler Gallery, 500X Gallery and CentralTrak, the University of Texas at Dallas’ Artists’ Residency.

Curiously, MuseumTower is not mentioned, although the study notes “Hundreds, if not thousands, of new housing units are required to lend the district the urban density it needs to thrive.”

The more than 100 condominium units of Museum Tower are priced between about $1 million to about $4 million with the top-floor penthouse selling for $20 million.

The report notes:

“Finally, neighborhood scores were normalized for family income, so that neighborhoods with the highest concentration of income did not skew the results.”

Carol Colleta of ArtPlace said “the impact the arts have had on the social and economic vibrancy and economy of these communities is unmistakable. This study shows how the arts can provide a foundation for a diversity of neighborhoods to thrive.”

ArtPlace officials based their selections “on a set of six indicators identified by Impresa, Inc., a Portland-based consulting firm specializing in the study of metropolitan economies. Four indicators measure ingredients of vibrancy: the number of retail and service businesses; the percentage of independent businesses; the neighborhood’s Walk Score; and the percentage of workers in creative occupations living in the neighborhood. Two arts-related indicators were also used: the number of arts-related non-profits and the number of arts-related businesses. Finally, neighborhood scores were normalized for family income so that neighborhoods with the highest concentration of income did not skew the results.”

ArtPlace added: “Each community has a particular story to tell, but they share a common theme: when a community mobilizes to place the arts at the core of a set of strategies to effect positive civic change, everyone benefits.”

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News, reviews, nuggets and tidbits from the local arts scene, including literature, theater, classical music, opera, dance and the visual arts.